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Events

Upcoming

09 Oct 2025

Better Texts with AI

KI Kompass (previously AI Upskilling by ETH)

Do you want better texts that are created more quickly and easily? Discover how to harness the power of ChatGPT, Neuroflash, Perplexity & Co. for yourself in this practical presentation with Albert Heiser!

Time: 12:30 – 13:30

Language: Geman

Location: Online

22 Oct 2025

AI at ETH: Discover the future of teaching!

KI Kompass (previously AI Upskilling by ETH)

Artificial intelligence is changing the world - and also the way we teach and learn at ETH Zurich! Are you curious about how AI can enrich teaching and make learning more effective? This session offers you a compact insight into the exciting possibilities and the pioneering role of ETH in this future-oriented field. Under the guidance of Gerd Kortemeyer, experience how we are actively shaping the education of tomorrow.

Time: 12:30 – 13:30

Language: Geman

Location: Online

04 Nov 2025

Is AI abolishing creativity?

KI Kompass (previously AI Upskilling by ETH)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing our world - but what does this mean for human creativity? Machines calculate the right music, generate images like old masters and write texts that move us. Is this the beginning of the end of human creativity or the start of an exciting new era of collaboration? This session with Adrian Notz dives deep into the debate. We explore how AI is already changing creative processes and the opportunities, but also unexpected challenges, it presents for us all. Prepare to rethink the future of creativity!

Time: 12:30 – 13:30

Language: Geman

Location: Online

03 Dec 2025

How is the academic world changing with AI?

KI Kompass (previously AI Upskilling by ETH)

The rapid development and increasing spread of artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually revolutionizing all areas of life. Higher education is no exception. Together, we take a look at the current developments and changes in two parts. In the first part, we will look at how AI is influencing teaching methods and what this means for students. In the second part, we will learn how AI is being used to write academic papers. While these developments open up considerable opportunities, they also confront us with new challenges that make a sound understanding and critical analysis essential.

Time: 12:30 – 13:30

Language: Geman

Location: Online

20 Jan 2026

Vision: What kind of AI do we want? 

KI Kompass (previously AI Upskilling by ETH)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is more than just technology - it is reshaping our present and future. At ETH Zurich, we are at the forefront of this development. But with great innovative power comes great responsibility. This session will take you on a journey through the complex ethical and social dimensions of AI. We go beyond the code and ask: What kind of AI do we really want? Instead of just looking at the technical possibilities, we will shed light on the far-reaching effects on work, culture, education and the way we live together. Become part of a critical debate and learn how to help shape the future of AI responsibly.

Time: 12:30 – 13:30

Language: Geman

Location: Online

03 Feb 2026

AI Act: How law-abiding are AI systems currently?

KI Kompass (previously AI Upskilling by ETH)

The EU AI Act is here - the world's first comprehensive legal framework for artificial intelligence. But how well can today's AI systems, especially language models (LLMs), already comply with these new rules? Join us for an exciting session that will shed some light on the subject. We will highlight research results from ETH Zurich that show where the challenges lie - especially in areas such as robustness, fairness and transparency. Understand the gap between rapid technological progress and the important regulatory requirements.

Time: 12:30 – 13:30

Language: Geman

Location: Online

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Past key events and highlights

Rountable on Open Source AI

This roundtable aimed to foster open, safe, socially beneficial and trusted AI for growth and innovation. It brought together key stakeholders to build a shared understanding of open source AI, analyzing its challenges and opportunities. A central focus of the discussions were what policy frameworks are needed to foster open sourceAI, while balancing safeguards and regulations with innovation. Together, participants examined how these tensions play out in practice and worked towards concrete recommendations, including a roadmap for joint actions and a shared research agenda.

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Bioethics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Navigating Opportunities, Challenges and Responsibilities

In December, 2024, Prof. Effy Vayena gave the annual George W. Gay Lecture in Medical Ethics at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics. Click here to watch the recording. More information is provided here.

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Conflict-Event Prediction for UN Peacekeeping

UN-ETH Partnership and Project

On 17 May 2024, Switzerland organised an ‘Arria-formula’ meeting of the UN Security Council to explore how artificial intelligence could revolutionize UN Peacekeeping. Dr. Sascha Langenbach of the ETH Center for Security Studies (CSS) briefed the UN Security Council on the capacity of machine-learning tools to assist with information processing in UN peace operations.

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This event is part of a larger joint research project between the UN Operations and Crisis Centre (UNOCC) and ETH Zurich's Center for Security Studies (CSS) that aims to explore the feasibility of an event-prediction system for UN peacekeeping. The project combines machine learning with event records collected by UN peacekeepers so as to lay the foundation for a software platform that could support data processing and decision-making procedures within UN peace missions.

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The PIs of this project include Prof. Andreas Wenger (CSS), Prof. Menna El-Assady (Department of Computer Science), and Dr. Sascha Langenbach (CSS).

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Read more by visiting the:

- Briefing at the UN Security Council

- Research Project website

- UN and ETH Zurich Partnership

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As If Human: Living in the Age of Intelligent Machines

On October 23, 2024, Prof. Sir Nigel Shadbolt, a leading researcher in Artificial Intelligence and Professor of Computing Science at the University of Oxford, in conversation with Prof. Dr. Margarita Boenig-Liptsin from ETH, discussed AI's history, current advancements, and the challenges and opportunities presented by today's and future AI systems.

Social Artificial Intelligence

On October 16, 2024, Prof. Nicholas Christakis from Yale University, in dialogue with Prof. Vayena, discussed the implications of integrating artificial intelligence into human social networks, focusing not on the more studied human-machine interactions, but rather asking several key questions around broader implications:

 

  • How might AI reshape human-human interactions and group dynamics?

  • Can our understanding of social network structure and function help assess the impact and ethical implications of social AI on human society?

  • Given the potential of 'dumb AI' to create or reinforce systemic problems, to what extent can we govern it?

  • Assuming we can address issues like nudging, manipulation, transparency, and deception, and use AI tools to encourage collective action, is this the only or the best way to foster human collaboration and coordination?

Guardrails: Guiding Human Decisions in the Age of AI

Book Talk and Panel Discussion

On June 6, 2024, Prof. Dr. Urs Gasser from TU Munich gave a talk on his book "Guardrails: Guiding Human Decisions in the Age of AI." Prof. Gasser's presentation, followed by a panel discussion, highlighted the need for human-centered "guardrails" in the digital era.

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The panel featured experts including Prof. Dr. Timo Minssen (University of Copenhagen), Jeremy Rollison (Microsoft), Lukas Walker and Dr. Sara Kijewski (ETH Zurich), moderated by Prof. Dr. Effy Vayena (ETH Zurich). The discussion emphasized the importance of balancing technology with human values to create a more equitable society.

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